Aswath Damodaran - The Value of a User

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Published 2017-07-26

While traditional business valuations have treated cash flow as the ultimate metric for gauging success, many of today's companies focus more on the size of their user community than their bottom line. Responding to evolving perspectives, newer valuation models attempt to assign value to individual consumers, but these models involve a series of assumptions and generalizations that do not always withstand scrutiny. Using Uber as a case study, this session will compare and contrast user-based valuation models with more traditional discounted cash flow (DCF) models, identifying where they converge and diverge.

Aswath Damodaran holds the Kerschner Family Chair in Finance Education and is a Professor of Finance at New York University Stern School of Business. He received a B.A. in Accounting from Madras University, an M.S. in Management from the Indian Institute of Management, and an M.B.A. and Ph.D. in Finance from the University of California. He has been voted “Professor of the Year” by the graduating M.B.A. class five times during his career at NYU. In addition, Professor Damodaran is the author of several highly-regarded and widely-used academic texts on Valuation, Corporate Finance, and Investment Management. Professor Damodaran currently teaches Corporate Finance and Equity Instruments & Markets. His research interests include Information and Prices, Real Estate, and Valuation.

The L2 Digital Leadership Academy, led by faculty from NYU Stern, Kellogg School of Management, Harvard Business School, and L2 researchers, is a two-day conference rooted in business fundamentals coupled with tactical sessions on digital topics.

All Comments (21)

@ruchiraramachandra5403 6 years ago

his thinking is so clear
@rafaelmartins188 4 years ago

Insane, best content I watched this year by far. Everyone should watch this.
@Mr.SourPatchMan 6 years ago

I love how informative this is. Thank you.
@pmahoney87 6 years ago

Great session - he touched briefly on "mixed model" companies - I'd love to understand his perspective there.
@edwardkasimir8016 6 years ago

This was a real treat for me.
@johnng5016 3 years ago

Can’t believe this valuable information is free
@gurusukh 6 years ago

Wonderful video from the guru of valuation. I think SHOP has it to become the next big thing in tech with all it's SMB as well as enterprise level merchants. This is one of those rare gems that doesn't get talked often due to their existence away from silicon valley.
@mayare1919 5 years ago

He broke it down with his original, signature model/approach and not once mentioned lifetime customer value
@mgbonuzuroland394 2 years ago

Great stuff-thanks for sharing
@gibranregiste-charles3847 6 years ago

Amazing!! Does anyone know where I can get a copy of Aswath's presentation?
@vijaysarathi 3 years ago

Will not sleep in such a teacher's class.. no wonder why these kind of teachers are in so high demand even for a hour of lectures
@rudybig 6 years ago

The G.O.A.T
@Saad_TheGod 2 years ago

Great Vid!
@jeffreycohen7139 5 years ago

Aswath, what about the user value for their data itself? Do you price in the user information sold to marketers or industry specialists as predictive information?
@DavidAxelrodP 6 years ago

How can I get a ticket to the next conference??
@CalWillify 2 years ago

I just got his book "Investment Valuation" (university edition) in the mail. It's phat.
@JohnnyBoiProductions 6 years ago

Better than dancing cats. Much better.
@LilacButterfly 4 years ago

I would like to know what the guesstimates are now that they have expanded into food delivery
@chongkokpeng9832 4 years ago

I just wished he was my university lecturer....how different things would be?
@Martin65252 5 years ago

This was informative. Is there any way we could get the slides?